United We Stand
by Zekiev Clayton-Zolnerowich
Summary: Titans are known to be hulking masses of muscle and metal, dominating the battlefield. But Winter is the youngest and smallest known guardian, and a titan at that. These are her adventures throughout the galaxy, with her ghost Boreas and a strange Exo. Directly tied into Jakusthegamer's "...Divided We Fall" as we are writing the two stories together.
1. Chapter 1

**(And so, a new adventure begins)**

New York was lost, long ago. What must have once been a bustling city is now just a creaking metal jungle, being torn at by the hoards of Fallen. They build their ships from the ancient scrap, in turn building their power, slowly but surely. The house I have been monitoring is the House of Constraint, long deserted by their former allies.

I was surrounded by old rusted metal, having taken the second floor of a small building as my vantage point. I was here to take out a Fallen Captain who had been terrorizing the nearby village of Metalhaven. They offered up what little glimmer they could, but I chose to refuse. I would not take from the weak what little they had.

"Eyes up, Winter." My ghost announced, warning me of a nearby enemy appearing on my HUD. I knew the enemy was there as soon as it appeared, but I'm glad to have my ghost watching out for me. If we didn't get along so well, we surely would have perished long ago, under an ocean of Dregs. We jokingly called them Dougs, if only for a slight chuckle. It helped a bit to laugh in the field, alone. Well, almost alone.

"Thanks Boreas, I'm on it." I replied into my helmet. I knew I could just think my response to him, but it felt good to actually talk once in awhile. I pulled my combat knife out of its sheath slowly, creeping my way towards the blip. For a titan, I was sneaky. But then again, for a titan, I was remarkably small. Most wondered why my ghost chose such a small, young girl, instead of the towering goliaths that stomped around the tower. Even I sometimes questioned why Boreas chose me, only to be answered with a roll of his core. _"Well, little wall" _he would always begin, reciting The Speaker's favorite nickname for me; _"The Traveler works in strange ways, and so do I. Choosing you felt right, like It was meant to happen, and hey, we have gotten this far, haven't we?" _ I would always roll my eyes and smile. At least I had one friend in this world. The Speaker was a nice man, always speaking to me as his equal. He was more of a…father figure? It was hard to place it, seeing as I wouldn't know what that felt like. Like all guardians, I had no recollection of my past after being brought back from death. Nonetheless, I trusted both my ghost and The Speaker, and would never question their words.

"Winter, focus. You are letting your mind wander." Boreas chimed into my helmet as I peeked my head out of the window. A lone Vandal stood below me, fidgeting with his shock pistol. He was nervous, and must have been separated from the rest of his crew. They wouldn't be looking for him anytime soon though. I could drop on him, but I barely weighed enough in my armor to do much damage. I should have been a hunter.

I dropped on him like a silent owl on a mouse, slashing his throat quickly so he couldn't retaliate, but his arms flailed wildly, trying to throw me off. I smashed the back of his knee with my heavy boot, causing him to fall to a knee. I grunted quietly as I snapped his neck, silencing him forever. I pushed him to the ground roughly, quickly taking in my surroundings. A small team of Dregs stood about twenty feet down the road from me, their faces contorted with horror.

Inhale.

Exhale.

My first breath since the swift death of the Vandal. I stood straight, whipping my auto-rifle _Shadow-Price _off of my back, sending a hail of bullets into the small crowd. They scattered in all directions, and I lowered my weapon.

"Damn." Boreas announced "They got away." I could almost hear the smirk in his voice.

"Well, I wasn't exactly aiming to kill all of them." I rolled my eyes, reminding him of the mission. "We need to pull that Captain out of hiding somehow, and that should do it."

"True. Unless that little display simply scares him to the light." He joked, getting a small smirk from me. I wanted to kill more of these ruthless bastards, but I needed the Captain to show himself.

I would wear his head on my belt on the way back, and nothing would stop me.

I took a slow look into the sky, the towers of metal and rust clawing at the vast blue sky. I like being in this city, it had a certain peace to it.

"I agree." Boreas said happily "I'm glad we come here often."

I breathed a slow breath of recycled air, and exhaled a sigh. It was the peaceful moments like these that made me love being a guardian. Whether it be the low hum of chattering in the tower, or the singing of birds in the city, I loved it. The loneness was only a small issue, with Boreas to talk to. Many other guardians tried to protect me from combat, treating me as if I were a child. Well, as if I were a weak child. My ghost chose me at the ripe age of eighteen, and The Speaker stood by Boreas's choice the entire time. Eventually the other guardians left me be, grumbling to themselves as they walked away. The occasional titan would risk life and limb to keep me from harm, and while I appreciated the help, I didn't need to be watched over like a small child.

"Heads up Winter, I'm picking up a decent sized force heading our way." Boreas announced, sounding a bit worried.

"He's here" I said quietly, reloading my rifle. I was ready.

Inhale.

A large wave of energy bolts sizzled towards me at lightning speed, tracking me as the air around them crackled loudly. I wasn't scared. I was more than prepared. I had the tools at my disposal to eliminate each and every one of the targets before me, quickly and efficiently.

Exhale.

I extended my arms in a wide arc, sending an impenetrable sphere of void energy around me, dissipating the arc bolts as if they were nothing. I smirked. The power always felt good. My fists erupted with lightning as I charged out of my shield, slamming my fists into the face of each and every Fallen that stood before me. They simply disintegrated at my touch as I weaved my way through them, making my way to the Captain. Before long, it was only him standing before me, holding two shock blades in his massive arms. He squinted hard, throwing the second blade to me, wishing for a duel.

"Honor? I guess these Fallen are a bit different than those of the other houses." Boreas said curiously as I caught my blade. The Captain bowed, and I returned his gesture. From the corner of my eye I could see Dregs and Vandals gathering around us, forming a quiet, deadly circle. If they attacked, they would regret it.

"Let's hope his friends here share that honor." My ghost said worriedly.

The captain charged me quickly, and our blades slammed together in a fierce clash of energy. My arm nearly gave way at the strong blow, but it held firm. I pushed the blade away quickly, and jumped back, slashing at his torso. He blocked the blow easily, parrying my blade and pushing me away quickly. I regained my composure quickly, holding the blade beside me as I drove myself into a dead sprint at the large captain in front of me. I faked slashing high, and he fell for it. And for that, it would cost him his life.

I spun as fast as I could, ramming the blade into his chest as hard as I could, the ether spurting from his wound. He dropped his blade, and it clanged on the concrete under him. He quickly fell limp, and I tore my blade from his chest, and quickly picked up the second, ready to defend myself from the hoard surrounding me.

To my surprise, they holstered their weapons, and bowed to me. The crowd quickly dissipated, scurrying back to their dark, damp hideouts.

"Well. That was dramatic. Still, I'm glad they didn't attack. We would have been in a real tight spot there." The little light appeared at the Captains body, studying it. I made my way to the Captain's body, and stripped him of the shock blade's sheaths. I strapped them to myself, and sheathed the blades.

"Keeping them, are we?" Boreas said curiously, tilting himself.

"Yes. He seemed honorable enough, despite his race."

I began my journey back to the village, to tell them of the news. I was ready to get back to the tower after this long day.

**(Chapter one of my Destiny story! Please review!)**


	2. Chapter 2, Metalhaven

Metalhaven was like almost any other village outside of the walls. Small, made of scrap metal or wood, with the strongest materials they could find made into walls. We guardians tried our hardest to protect these settlements far away from the city, some even going as far as to move into them and build their own house.

"Let's find the chief, Winter." Boreas announced quietly, appearing next to me in his physical form.

"Well, he shouldn't be too hard to find." I chuckled, remembering the massive titan who became the village leader. He stood many feet taller than me, and had to weigh a ton.

A few guardians lived in Metalhaven, as it was a larger than normal settlement, although I didn't know any of them personally, not even their chief. The Speaker seemed to be on good terms with him though, and that was enough for me.

"_The man I am sending you to is an old friend of mine. You can trust him as much as you can trust me, Winter. Though, to you he may seem a bit…outspoken. His name is Drostan." _

"You never pay attention, do you?" Boreas interrupted my thoughts as a large, red headed man made his way towards me.

"Ah!" he began, in a thick Scottish accent. "I see yer back lass! I hope it all went well!"

I simply nodded at the man, and crossed my arms. I had never talked to many guardians, and wasn't very use to making conversation. I just thought it was awkward. Few others had heard my voice, including the Speaker and Boreas. It's not that I didn't like talking to people; it is more or less that I have little to say.

"I see!" He chuckled, motioning at my newly acquired swords. "Quite a trophy ya got there! Yer ship is re-fueled and ready to go whenever you are. The Speaker has yer pay." He smiled and waved, walking brusquely away to another person shouting for him.

"Cheery guy. Good to see that out here." Boreas announced in my head as I looked around the village. I liked Metalhaven, it was a nice little harbor in this ocean of metal. It was safe, and protected, and cities like this would be our best foothold in the wilds; a step towards taking back the rest of earth.

"Yeah, it must be hard to keep spirits up out here in the wilds though." I responded, heading towards my ship.

"So what are we going to do back at the tower?" my little ghost asked, tilting himself.

"You know, it's adorable when you do that." I teased, poking his shell.

"Hey! I'm not adorable! I'm an incredibly powerful being of light!"

I rolled my eyes and smirked, motioning for him to follow me. It was time to go home, and luckily the flight would only take a few minutes.

"Winter. Listen." Boreas whispered quickly, sounding alarmed. My head whipped around and I whipped my auto-rifle off of my back, dropping to a knee and inspecting my surroundings. I knew the tone he took all too well, and I learned quickly never to ignore his warnings.

"I've received a message from Drostan's ghost. It seems a large force is amassing at the main gate. We should get over there, now." I nodded as Boreas relayed his message, and made my way to the main gate.

People were curiously poking their heads out of houses and shops as I made my way down the main street, wondering what was going on. A few guardians walked with me to the large metal gate, holding an assortment of weapons.

"They must have been warned as well." Boreas said quietly as we took in the scene.

"Winter. Yah need tah get up here lass, it's important." Drostan announced into my helmet's com. I made my way to the platform the colossus of a man was standing on and took a look.

"Wow." Boreas uttered quietly.

"Yah took the words righ' out of me mouth." Drostan spoke, checking his weapon's clip.

An ocean of fallen were standing before me, waiting, fidgeting in place. They weren't attacking, and this bothered me a little. It meant that they had another reason besides massacring the village, if they didn't plan on it already. In the very front of the army stood a massive Fallen Kell, the leader of the house of Constraint.

"You see him too? He's looking right at you, you know." My ghost whispered worriedly. The Kell motioned for me to come down to him, putting his large shrapnel gun on his back.

"It seems he wants a talk with ye lass. You can count on the rest of us to be watchin' yer back." The chief announced quietly, placing a hand on my shoulder. I could only assume that he too had experienced the strange traits of this house of Fallen.

I nodded to him, made my way down the stairs, and stood in front of the heavy metal gate as it was being lowered, the Kell's eyes locked with mine as soon as his head appeared.

"This is SUCH a bad idea." Boreas disproved, "But I'm not going anywhere if you aren't. Let's find out what's up."

**(I'm sorry it's a shorter chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed! I'll try to update quicker, and, eventually Jakus and I will have our updates at regular times instead of this chaos. We will also be aiming for longer chapters as well. Anyways, please review!)**


	3. Chapter 3, Well that was unexpected

**(Sorry I was gone for so long, I had some stuff going on. Anyways, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and be sure to review!)**

This guy was big. Huge. Enormous. He put Draksis to shame, towering over even Drostan, who was already a mountain of a man. But something was definitely different about this Kell, something that put him aside from the others.

"It's probably because he isn't shooting at us." Boreas announced, reading my mind.

"I guess that is a pretty good reason. He doesn't look very violent to me, really. Big, but not murderous." My thoughts were interrupted when the Kell began to speak, something I had never heard any fallen do without cursing in their language or shooting something.

"I am Nefoxx, Kell of the House of Constraint. I come to you today, for your service." He announced, putting his lower arms behind his back.

"You kill one of his captains, and he wants you to do something for him? Sounds suspicious to me." Boreas spoke slowly. I agreed silently, still listening to the Kell speak.

"This may be very strange to you, human, as our people don't have the best history. But, recently, a lot has changed in the House of Constraint. If you would go through with this task for me, I would let you know everything. I will recall my troops, and remain here with my personal guard until you returned." He slowly hissed to a finish, nodding at me.

"Should we trust him?" I thought to my ghost, furrowing my brow. This was very strange, and I expected much more shooting and yelling. Even the guards next to him looked relaxed, their weapons sheathed and their arms crossed.

"Well…as much as I don't like it, we could at least try. It might be very valuable information. And, like he said, he'll stay in town. But hey, it's your choice." Boreas reasoned.

"I will hear you out, Nefoxx. Tell your troops to disband and follow me into the town hall. Keep in line though. I don't feel like a fight right now, I was actually about to leave." I stated, motioning for him to follow me. He ducked under the gate and fell into step behind me, his guard following close behind.

"Drostan, gather the town council and meet me at town hall as soon as possible." I said over my helmet's communication system.

"I'm on it lass, I'll have 'em all gathered up soon enough."

The population was silent. Not even a bird was chirping, and the tension was so thick you could cut it with a dull knife. Children hid behind their mothers, and the men had their guns ready. I doubt any of their weapons would be of use if the Kell decided to attack, but I understood their alarm. We arrived at town hall and I threw open the doors, hearing a collective gasp from the council. A few even managed to fall out of their chairs in panic. Secretly, I found it hilarious.

"Same." Boreas chuckled silently.

"Do not be alarmed humans; I am not here to hurt you." The Kell began slowly, his deep voice sounding quiet and passive. "My name is Nefoxx, the new leader of the House of Constrain. My brother, the former leader, has been killed."

"By who?" I asked almost involuntarily, looking up at the Fallen leader.

"By me, of course." He answered simply, turning back to the council, who had re-seated themselves and were listening intently.

"I fought him in one-on-one combat, as our society demands in such a case. While he honored our ancient laws, he was still a tyrant. I apologize for all of the attacks on your village, and promise, as of now, you will be under our protection, and be seen as allies and possibly even trade partners. I hope you accept my offer. If not, we will leave your village be, you have my word."

The entire council seemed to be in shock, their jaws collectively dropping.

"Well. Seems ta me tha' we can't blame ye' fer sumthin yer kin did. I would be honored to accept all of yer kind as allies, and see to it tha' the council agree too." Drostan spoke up, smiling and holding a hand out to the Kell.

"But what about the patrol that I took down today?" I said awkwardly, shuffling a bit. Social confrontation wasn't my thing, and I didn't know how to handle many situations where I couldn't empty a clip in blind fury. The Kell shook Drostan's hand, and then turned to me.

"No need to worry about that, little one. The patrol you eliminated was my brother's old guard. This particular one was a violent being, and could have only been stopped by death."

"Oh. Well that's…good." I finished slowly.

"Well, good for us. Two birds with one hundred and forty-three bullets." I could hear Boreas rolling his core in his voice, dripping with sarcasm.

"Which brings me to another matter I must discuss with you, human."

"And…that is?"

"I only recently became Kell. And, as you know, one of my…well, my brother's…guard has been killed. I have been informed that he died in a battle with you. A one-on-one fight to the death, using ceremonial blades, at that." He motioned towards my newly acquired blades and suddenly I felt very, very small. I don't know why. I had killed massive Cabal, Vex gatelords, and hell, even a god, but I felt very, very self conscious.

"By our laws, the position is rightfully yours. You can deny it, and let it be given to another. But I think it may just strengthen the trust of our new alliance if you accept." He began to sound very much like the Speaker, in an old, wise way. I made my decision before Boreas could even stop me.

"I'll do it. I'm in." I stood on my tiptoes and held my hand out, feeling very much like a small child as the Kell shook my hand.

"So be it. From this day forth, we shall be known as the House of Metalhaven." Nefoxx announced to his comrades and the council, his guard bowing to him on bended knee.

"Ah, and human. I will have a messenger meet you outside the gates when the night falls for your mission. He will accompany you."

I nodded and made my way to my ship to rest.

"Well. This has been a _very _interesting day, don't you think?" Boreas announced quietly into my head.


End file.
